Tire dressing paste composition

ABSTRACT

A tire dressing composition is provided that includes at least one silicone fluid having a viscosity of between 40 and 500,000 centiStokes at room temperature. An amine functionalized silicone fluid having a viscosity of between 40 and 500,000 centiStokes at room temperature is also present. A thickener is present to yield a coating from the composition has limited sag, low tack upon coating formation, and desirable durability properties. An organic solvent is present in which the at least one silicone fluid and the amine functionalized silicone fluid are soluble or suspended. A process is provided for dressing a tire having a previous silicone coating thereon, the process including applying the tire dressing composition and allowing a solvent to evaporate from the composition to form a tire dressing coating. The coating producing an initial gloss of great than 200 units. A gloss of greater than 110 units is maintained for at least four weeks subsequent to the application under normal vehicle operation conditions.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Utility application Ser. No.13/586,088 filed Aug. 15, 2012; that in turn claims priority benefit toU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/557,872 filed on 9 Nov. 2011;the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention in general relates to a tire dressing compositionand the use thereof and in particular to such a thickened compositionamenable to application to the tires of various vehicles to provide adurable, low-tack, high gloss protective coating.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As the mileage on a tire increases, the sidewall rubber surfaces oftenbecome dull and unattractive. This is due to various causes includingwind, weather, sunlight, scratching, abrasion from dirt, and otherchemical and physical reactions. Many products are available today onthe market for tire dressing usage to address these adverse effects.Many of these tire dressing products restore older appearance from adull, weathered appearance to a shiny, bright, and like-new condition.For example, conventionally a dispersion of the silicone fluids inpetroleum distillates or a conventional oil in water silicone emulsionsystem with milky or opaque appearance are often used to restore theattractive, bright, shiny, and like-new appearance on the tire surface.Typically conventional tire dressing formulas for dressing andappearance applications tend to have limited adhesion to the rubber ofthe tire. Ideally, a product has the long-term performancecharacteristics of being resistant to car wash detergents andweathering, such as rain and storm. Unfortunately, conventional productsremain difficult for a consumer to apply and do not provide the balanceof desired properties. To-date, tire dressing products have involved atrade-off of properties with low viscosity film forming polymers tendingto be vulnerable to weathering, sag, and tack during drying; whilehigher molecular weight film forming polymers tend to be brittle anddelaminate.

Thus, there exists a need for a tire dressing composition that issufficiently viscous to be applied as a paste and has durability againstweather and detergent. There also exists a need for a process to applysuch a composition to provide a high gloss protective dressing coatingto a tire surface.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A tire dressing composition is provided that includes at least onesilicone fluid having a viscosity of between 40 and 500,000 centiStokesat room temperature. An amine functionalized silicone fluid having aviscosity of between 40 and 500,000 centiStokes at room temperature isalso present. A thickener is present to yield a coating from thecomposition has limited sag, low tack upon coating formation, anddesirable durability properties. An organic solvent is present in whichthe at least one silicone fluid and the amine functionalized siliconefluid are soluble or suspended.

A process is provided for dressing a tire having a previous siliconecoating thereon, the process including applying the tire dressingcomposition and allowing a solvent to evaporate from the composition toform a tire dressing coating. The coating producing an initial gloss ofgreater than 200 units. A gloss of greater than 110 units is maintainedfor at least four weeks subsequent to the application under normalvehicle operation conditions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention has utility as a thickened tire dressingcomposition and a process for a use thereof to protect and impart glossand water repellency to a tire so treated. An inventive tire dressingcomposition forms a durable high gloss water repellant coating on a tirethat is resistant to water and detergent exposure. A surprisingattribute of the present invention is that through the inclusion of athickener in combination with polydimethylsiloxane andamino-functionalized silicone polymers, a coating is produced from aninventive tire dressing composition has limited sag (synonymouslyreferred to herein as “sling”), low tack upon coating formation, anddesirable durability properties. The resulting coating also has superioradhesion to a silicone coating existing on the tire to which aninventive coating adheres.

The high molecular weight polydimethylsiloxane and high molecular weightreactive amino-functional silicone polymers of the present invention incombination deliver a high durability dressing coating. Both the highmolecular weight polydimethylsiloxane and high molecular weight reactiveamino-functional silicone polymers are essential requirements to delivera high durability dressing coating. However, these polymers alone tendto form a tire dressing coating that is tacky and difficult to be usedby consumers. The performance characteristics of an inventive tiredressing composition are further enhanced chemically and physically byadequately controlling the viscoelastic characteristics of the productthrough thickening. This balance is achieved through modifying the ratiobetween the elastic and viscous aspects of the composition.

Adequate thickening was used in this invention to completely eliminatethe tackiness, to deliver excellent spreadability for easy/smoothapplication, and to achieve the desired uniform extremely high glossdressing coating.

An inventive tire dressing composition is readily applied by a vehicleowner through resort to a convention trigger spray application,propellant aerosol, or a sponge or cloth for wipe application onto thetire surface.

An inventive tire dressing composition includes at least one siliconefluid having a viscosity of between 40 and 500,000 centiStokes, asmeasured at room temperature. Suitable silicone fluids operative hereinillustratively include polydialkylsiloxanes where the alkyl is in eachinstance is C₁-C₄ such as polydimethylsiloxane, and the methyl groupsalong the chain can be substituted by many other groups, e.g., phenyl,vinyl, or trifluoropropyl. Representative silicone fluids operativeherein and conventional to the art are detailed in the U.S. Pat. Nos.6,602,835; 6,506,715; 6,221,833; 6,221,811; 6,180,117; 6,153,569;6,147,078; 6,080,387; 6,071,975; 6,013,323; 5,759,983; 5,661,208;5,623,017; 5,578,298; 5,525,427; 5,507,969; 5,378,271; 5,326,483;5,244,598; 5,183,845; 5,077,040; 5,057,572; 4,999,398; 4,880,557;4,790,877; 4,600,436; and 3,956,174. In a preferred embodiment, the atleast one silicone fluid is a polydimethylsiloxane with a molecularweight of between 10,000 and 500,000 centiStokes. It is appreciated thatthe molecular weights and film forming properties silicone materialsthat vary in viscosity and molecular weight are operative to adjust theproperties of a coating formed from an inventive composition. The atleast one silicone fluid of an inventive tire dressing composition istypically present in the composition in an amount of between 30 and 70total weight percent and preferably between 35 and 62 total weightpercent.

An amine functionalized silicone polymer is provided in an inventivecomposition The amine functionalized silicone polymer is reactive withthe polydimethylsiloxane and moieties extending from the tire surface.Amine functionalized silicone polymers operative herein include thosepolymers that have both terminal and pendant amine groups. The aminegroups being primary or secondary amines of the formula —NH₂ or NHR¹,where R¹ is C₁-C₆ alkyl, C₁-C₆ fluoroalkyl, C₁-C₆, perfluoroalkyl, C₆-C₈aryl, and C₁-C₆ alkyl alcohol. Amine functionalized silicone polymersoperative herein illustratively include cyclic poly(diorganosiloxane)s;poly(diorganosiloxane)s; the polydimethylsiloxanes detailed above withthe proviso that at least two amine groups are present per polymerchain. The amine functionalized silicone polymers operative herein havea viscosity of between 40 and 500,000 centiStokes, as measured at roomtemperature. The amine functionalized silicone polymer is typicallypresent in the composition in an amount of between 1 and 20 total weightpercent and preferably between 2 and 11 total weight percent.

In order to improve properties in a dressing produced by an inventioncomposition, a metal salt or polymeric thickener is present in thecomposition. A metal salt thickener operative herein has the formula:

Q-M^(Z+)OC(O)R²  (I)

where R² is C₂-C₂₄ alkyl, C₂-C₂₄ fluoroalkyl, C₂-C₂₄ perfluoroalkyl,C₂-C₂₄ alkenyl, C₂-C₂₄ fluoroalkenyl, C₂-C₂₄ perfluoroalkenyl, andC₆-C₁₀ aryl; M is a main group or transition group metal; Z is aninteger of 2 or 3; and Q is oxo, or hydroxyl to satisfy the charge M. Byway of example, a thickener (I) is a salt of Ca, Mg, B, Al, or Zn.Specific thickeners (I) illustratively include oxoaluminum octanoate,oxoaluminum acrylate, and hydroxylcalcium stearate. A thickener (I) istypically present in the composition in an amount of between 0.05 and 5total weight percent and preferably between 0.1 and 1 total weightpercent.

A polymeric thickener operative herein is a block copolymer. Polymericthickeners operative herein include SEBS, SEP, SEB, EP, SBS, SB, andSIS, where E is a polyethylene segments, S is a polystyrene segment, Bis a polybutylene or polybutadiene segment, I is a polyisoprene segment,and P is a polypropylene segment. The polymeric thickener is optionallybonded to colloidal particles, such as styrene beads or silica. By wayof example, a SEBS-styrene particle thickener is commercially availableunder the tradename KRATON G®. Typical KRATON G® polymers consists ofblock segments of styrene monomer units and rubber monomer units. Eachblock segment may consist of 100 monomer units or more. A polymericthickener is typically present in the composition in an amount ofbetween 0.05 and 5 total weight percent and preferably between 0.1 and 1total weight percent, these amounts not considering the amount ofcolloidal particulate that is optionally present. Such colloidalparticles, when present, are typically used at a weight ratio relativeto the polymer of between 0-5:1 (particulate:thickening polymer). It isappreciated that a thickener (I) and a polymeric thickener are readilyused in combination within the same inventive composition and at thesame total loading as either type alone, namely 0.05 to 5 total weightpercent.

The various inventive composition components are required to form asuspension or solution with an organic solvent and preferably a VOCexempt organic solvent such as a chemical compound or mixture thatcontains at least one carbon atom and meets one of the following: (1)has a vapor pressure less than 0.1 mmHg at 20° C., as determined by ARBMethod 310; or (2) is a chemical compound with more than 12 carbonatoms, or a chemical mixture comprised solely of compounds with morethan 12 carbon atoms, and the vapor pressure is unknown; or (3) is achemical compound with a boiling point greater than 216° C. asdetermined by ARB Method 310; or (4) is the weight percent of a chemicalmixture that boils above 216° C., as determined by ARB Method 310.

An inventive tire dressing composition optionally includes a defoamingagent in an amount present to inhibit blister formation in a tiresurface dress coating so produced by the inventive composition. Siliconedefoamer agents operative herein illustratively include silicone baseddefoamers, mineral oil based defoamers, and mixtures of foam destroyingpolymers and hydrophobic solids such as polyureas, as are known to theart. Specific exemplary silicone based defoamers illustratively includesilica-filled polydimethylsiloxane and polyether-modified polysiloxanes.

Inventive tire dressing composition optionally includes a surfactantpresent in an amount to reduce surface tension of the inventive tiredressing composition to an extent such that the composition is able towet the tire surface. Surfactants operative herein illustrativelyinclude nonionic polymeric fluorinated surfactants, anionic phosphonatedfluorinated surfactants, nonionic ethoxylated fluorinated surfactants,polyether modified polydimethylsiloxane, polyether modifiedpolymethylalkylsiloxane, aralkyl modified polymethylalkylsiloxane,polyester modified hydroxyl functional polydimethylsiloxane, acrylfunctional polyester modified polydimethylsiloxane, polyether polyestermodified hydroxyl functional polydimethylsiloxane, solution ofpolyacrylate, solution of a fluoro modified polyacrylate.

An inventive tire dressing composition also optionally includes apigment such as iron oxide, mica, titanium dioxide, stannic oxide,metallic glitter particles such as pigmented polyethylene terehthalate,cut metalized foils such as aluminized PVC film or the like; organicdyes; fragrances; corrosion inhibitors illustratively includingtriethanolamine dinonylnaphthalene, boric acid-triethanolamine salt,phosphoric acid-triethanolamine salt, ammonia, triethanolamine,capryloamphoprionate, and mixtures thereof; plasticizers;antimicrobials; and combinations thereof. Typical and preferredformulations according to the present invention are provided in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Inventive Thickened Tire Dressing Composition (amounts in totalweight) Ingredient Typical Preferred Silicone Fluid 30-70 35-62 e.g.100,000 CST polydimethylsiloxane Amino functionalized silicone fluid 1-20  2-11 Thickener (I)/polymeric thickener 0.05-5   0.1-1  Defoamer0-1 0.01-0.5  Surfactant 0-5 0.1-3  Pigment 0-3 0-1 Dye 0-1  0-0.5Fragrance 0-1  0-0.5 Antimicrobial 0-1  0-0.2 Anticorrosion 0-2 0-1Solvent (e.g. pet. distillate) to 100% to 100%

The present invention is further detailed with respect to the followingnonlimiting examples that are provided to further illustrate thepreparation of inventive compositions and certain attributes associatedwith the resulting coatings on tire surfaces.

Example 1

Using TRICOR systems model 806H hand-held surface analysis system, atire gloss calibration was performed on all four tires of four differentvehicles. These vehicles and the specific tires mounted thereon included1999 Ford F-250 Pickup Truck (BF Goodrich LT235/85R16-120/116Q); 1996Ford E-150 Van (Arizonian Silver Edition P235/75R15-1055); 2000 FordContour (Kumho P185170R1487TM+S); 1999 Nissan Ultima (YokohamaYK520P195/65R15-91H). Baseline gloss values for each of the tires of thefour test vehicles were measured seven times for each vehicle in TRICORgloss units. For the 28 measurements of gloss used as a baseline foreach vehicle, statistics were generated indicating an averagepretreatment gloss of 15.04±2.19 with a coefficient of variation of14.55% and a range of 8.5.

The following generation of baseline values, an inventive tire dressingcomposition including 51 total weight percent of 100,000 centiStokessilicone fluid, 5 weight percent 30,000 centiStokes methoxy terminatedreactive amino functionalized silicone fluid that contains both primaryand secondary amine functionality, 0.23% oxoaluminum acrylate as athickener (I), and, 0.1% cherry fragrance.

As a comparative example, the same formulation lacking the thickener (I)is also applied to the four test vehicle tires randomized based on tirelocation on the vehicles. Quadruple gloss measurements are takenimmediately upon coating formation on the vehicle tires and once a weekfor the next 11 weeks. The results are summarized in Table 2.

TABLE 2 Average gloss measurement in TRICOR Gloss Units ComparativeComposition Inventive Composition (w/o thickener) As applied 212.0 ± 7.7183.0 ± 0.0  Week 1 192.75 ± 2.9  169.0 ± 2.9  Week 2 161.5 ± 5.3 132.5± 7.9  Week 3 140.0 ± 3.5 102.3 ± 14.0 Week 4 110.3 ± 1.7  74.3 ± 12.5Week 5  92.0 ± 2.2 51.5 ± 8.3 Week 6  71.3 ± 0.5 30.3 ± 1.0 Week 7  51.5± 1.7 15.8 ± 0.5 Week 8  41.5 ± 2.4 — Week 9 33.25 ± 1.3 — Week 10 27.0± 0  — Week 11 13.75 ± 1.7 —

The results of the statistical analysis of this data summarized in Table2 shows both a higher initial gloss to the inventive composition coatingand a longer duration of coating adhesion, as compared to thecomparative composition lacking the oxoaluminum acrylate polymer. Infact, the comparative composition testing was terminated after weekseven because the average gloss value had reverted to baseline valuesbased on the quadruple measurements from each of the four vehicles.

Patents and publications mention the specification are indicative of thelevels of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.These patents and publications are incorporated herein by reference tothe same extent as if each individual patent or publication wasspecifically and individually incorporated herein by reference.

The forgoing description is illustrative of particular embodiments ofthe invention, but is not meant to be a limitation upon the practicethereof. The following claims, including all equivalents thereof areintended to define the scope of the invention.

1. A tire dressing composition comprising: at least one silicone fluidhaving a viscosity of between 40 and 500,000 centiStokes at roomtemperature; an amine functionalized silicone fluid having a viscosityof between 40 and 500,000 centiStokes at room temperature; a thickener;and a VOC exempt organic solvent in which said at least one siliconefluid and said anime functionalized silicone fluid are soluble orsuspended.
 2. The composition of claim 1 wherein said thickener has theformula:Q-M^(Z+)OC(O)R²  (I) where R² is C₂-C₂₄ alkyl, C₂-C₂₄ fluoroalkyl,C₂-C₂₄ perfluoroalkyl, C₂-C₂₄ alkenyl, C₂-C₂₄ fluoroalkenyl, C₂-C₂₄perfluoroalkenyl, and C₆-C₁₀ aryl; M is a main group or transition groupmetal; Z is an valence integer of 2 or 3; and Q is oxo, or hydroxyl tosatisfy the valence integer.
 3. The composition of claim 1 wherein saidthickener is present from 0.05 to 5 total weight percent.
 4. Thecomposition of claim 2 where M is Ca, Mg, B, Al, or Zn.
 5. Thecomposition of claim 4 where R² is C₆-C₂₄ alkyl.
 6. The composition ofclaim 1 wherein said at least one silicone fluid is a polydimethylsiloxane.
 7. The composition of claim 1 wherein said at least onesilicone fluid comprises a first silicone fluid having a first siliconefluid viscosity of between 10,000 and 500,000 centiStokes.
 8. Thecomposition of claim 1 wherein said first silicone fluid is apolydimethyl siloxane.
 9. The composition of claim 1 wherein said atleast one silicone fluid is present from 30 to 70 total weight percent.10. The composition of claim 1 wherein said amine functionalized ispresent from 1 to 20 total weight percent.
 11. The composition of claim1 wherein said amine functionalized silicone fluid is has a viscosity ofbetween 40 and 500,000 centiStokes and having at least two amine groupsare present per polymer chain of said amine functionalized siliconefluid.
 12. The composition of claim 1 wherein said amine functionalizedsilicone fluid is a primary amine functionalized silicone fluid.
 13. Thecomposition of claim 1 wherein said organic solvent is a majorityconstituent and is a VOC exempt solvent.
 14. The composition of claim 1wherein said thickener comprises at least one copolymer of SEBS, SEP,SEB, EP, SBS, SB, or SIS; where E is a polyethylene segment, S is apolystyrene segment, B is a polybutylene or polybutadiene segment, I isa polyisoprene segment, and P is a polypropylene segment.
 15. Thecomposition of claim 14 wherein said copolymer further comprisescolloidal particles bonded to said copolymer.
 16. A process of dressinga tire surface comprising: applying a composition to the tire surface,said composition comprising: at least one silicone fluid having aviscosity of between 40 and 500,000 centiStokes at room temperature; anamine functionalized silicone fluid having a viscosity of between 40 and500,000 centiStokes at room temperature; a thickener; and a VOC exemptorganic solvent in which said at least one silicone fluid and said animefunctionalized silicone fluid are soluble or suspended; and allowingsaid composition to dry to dress the tire surface to a shine of greaterthan 200 gloss units.
 17. The process of claim 16 further comprisingmaintaining a durability shine of greater than 110 gloss units fourweeks after said allowance to dry step.